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Sunderbans National Park

Sunderbans in the Indian state of West Bengal is the estuarine phase of the Ganga as well as of the Brahmaputra river systems. This littoral forest is the only ecological habitat of the tiger of its kind not only in India but also in the world, except in Bangladesh. The typical littoral forests of Sundarbans comprises of a host of trees species adopted to the peculiar estuarine condition of high salinity, lack of soil erosion and daily inundation by high tides.

Sunderbans Tiger Reserve provides characteristic type of habitat suitable for animals inhabiting vast tidal swamp area. Because of their intimate association with the estuarine environment, a sizeable portion of aquatic and semi-aquatic animal communities is inter-related with the animals inhabiting the land areas. The uniqueness of the habitat is said to have contributed to certain behavioral trends which are characteristic only of Sundarbans tigers.

Cheetal, wild boar and the rhesus macaque are the main prey species of tiger. Aquatic animals like the crabs and fishes are also eaten by Sundarbans tiger, which occupies the pinnacle of both terrestrial as well as aquatic food web.

Sundarbans mangrove is home to a number of endangered and globally threatened species. Number of heronries form here during monsoon as well as during winter. The Reserve is home to several Trans-Himalayan migratory bird species.

Forest Types
Tidal Swamp Forests
Saline Water Type Mixed Forests
Brackish W ater Type Mixed Forests
Palm Swamp Type

General Information :
Best Time to Visit : September to May.
Nearest Town : Gosaba (50 km)

How to Get Here :
Air : Kolkata (Calcutta) (112 km)
Rail : Canning (48 km)


Sunderbans Wildlife Park Flora
There are 64 plant species in Sundarbans with the capacity to withstand estuarine conditions and saline inundation as a result of tidal effects. Some of them are listed here :

Excaecaria agallocha
Heritiera fomes
Ceriops decandra
Ceriops tagal
Phoenix paludosa
Sonneratia alba
Sonneratia apetala
Avicennia spp.,
Rhizophora Apiculata
Rhizophora mucronata,
Xylocarpus granatum,
Bruguiera spp. etc.


Sunderbans Wildlife Park Fauna
Tiger
Fishing Cat
Spotted Deer
Wild Boar
Gangetic Dolphin
Water Monitor
Estuarian Crocodile
River Terrapin (Batagur baska)
Olive Ridley Turtle
Ground Turtle
Hawks Bill Turtle
King Crab (Horse shoe) etc.



Wildlife Conservation in Sunderbans
Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, created in 1973, was the part of the then 24-Parganas Forest Division. Subsequently, the area comprising the present tiger reserve was constituted as a Reserve Forest in 1978. The area of the Reserve is 2585 sq. km. , covering a land area of 1600 sq. km. and the water body occupying over 985 sq. km. Within this area, 1330.12 sq. km. is designated as core area, which was subsequently declared as Sundarbans National Park in 1984. An area of 124.40 sq. km. within the core area is preserved as primitive zone to act as a gene pool. Within the buffer zone, Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary was created in 1976, covering an area of 362.335 sq. km. Considering the importance of the bio-geographic gegion of Bengal River Forests and its unique bio-diversity, the National Park area of the Reserve was included in the list of World Heritage Sites in 1985. The entire Sundarbans area was declared as Biosphere Reserve in 1989.

Suggested Tours : Indian Wildlife Tour : Wildlife Tour of India and Nepal : Special Birding Tour with Bird Guide : Tiger Safari Packages in India India : Extensive Tiger Tour of North India : Tiger Safari Packages in India with Taj

Sunderbans National Park : Fact File : Flora of Sunderbans : Fauna of Sunderbans : Map of Sunderbans : Wildlife Conservation in Sunderbans